Frosh quarterback helps Syracuse roll past Pitt

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, November 12, 1995

PITTSBURGH - Playing on Veterans Day in a series that began before World War I ended, Syracuse and Pitt continued one of the East's oldest rivalries by starting redshirt freshmen quarterbacks.

The similarities ended right there.

Donovan McNabb, who played with a composure and confidence found in few 18-year-olds, confused injury-depleted Pitt with his scrambling and accurate passing as the No. 23 Orangemen romped to a 42-10 victory Saturday.

McNabb was 12-of-15 for 157 yards and two touchdowns and Rob Konrad scored three touchdowns as the Orangemen (7-2, 4-1 Big East) rebounded from a 24-point loss at Virginia Tech.

"(McNabb's) play-action passing was very effective," Pitt coach Johnny Majors said. "Syracuse has the most diversified offense in our league. They've got good speed and they didn't even need (McNabb's) option plays that much."

McNabb made sure Pitt went down quickly, completing eight of nine as the Orange bolted to a 28-7 halftime lead. Fifth nationally in passing accuracy, McNabb threw touchdown passes of 5 and 13 yards to Marvin Harrison before being lifted late in the third quarter.

The Orange already are guaranteed of a bowl trip - possibly to the Orange or Sugar if they end the season by beating Boston College and Miami, or, if they lose again, to the Carquest or Gator.

Pitt (2-8, 0-6) has lost a half-dozen starters to injuries and eight games in a row since a 2-0 start, its longest streak it lost 10 in a row in 1971-72. The latest loss ended a miserable week for Majors, whose car was smashed broadside by a speeding driver during a police chase following the Panthers' practice Thursday. Majors was not hurt, but the crash led to a seven-car, chain-reaction pileup.

Injuries to his top two quarterbacks, John Ryan and Pete Gonzalez, also forced Majors to start redshirt freshman Matt Lytle, who had thrown only four passes all season. Lytle wasn't a flop, going 20-of-38 for 200 yards, one touchdown and an interception, but was constantly under pressure.

* Miami 17, Boston College 14: Danyell Ferguson ran for 144 yards, including an 85-yard touchdown, and Dane Prewitt kicked a 24-yard field goal with 49 seconds left to give the Hurricanes a victory in Boston.

Miami (6-3, 4-1 Big East) took a 14-0 lead but allowed the Eagles to stay close with turnovers and one costly penalty. BC (3-7, 3-2) flubbed four field goals, including a 46-yarder into a gusting 40 mph wind as time expired.

* Navy 31, Delaware 7: In Annapolis, Md., quarterbacks Ben Fay and Chris McCoy each broke long runs for second-half touchdowns and the Midshipmen (4-5) ran off to a victory over the Fightin' Blue Hens. The loss was the first in 10 games this season for Delaware, which is ranked fourth in Division I-AA.

* Dartmouth 10, Brown 7: Ambrose Garcia scored on a 4-yard end run on the opening drive of the second half to lead the Big Green (7-2, 4-2 Ivy League) to victory over the Bears (4-5, 1-5) in Hanover, N.H.

* Cornell 35, Columbia 14: Quarterback Steve Joyce set a school record by throwing a touchdown pass in his seventh consecutive game and tailbacks Chad Levitt and Terry Smith each ran for more than 100 yards in the first half, helping the Big Red (5-3, 4-1) keep its Ivy title hopes alive by beating the Lions (2-6, 1-4) in Ithaca, N.Y.

Now Playing:

* Yale 21, Princeton 13: Kena Heffernan's 4-yard touchdown run with 3:35 left sparked the Bulldogs to an Ivy League victory that denied the host Tigers (8-1, 5-1) a chance to clinch a tie for the championship and may have ruined their chance of winning their first outright title since 1964.

* Penn 38, Harvard 21: Jasen Scott and Aman Abye combined for 267 yards and two touchdowns as the Quakers handed the Crimson an 0-6 home season.&lt;

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